Helping your Teen or Tween Beat Summer Boredom
Many teens and tweens are struggling with a common emotion this summer: boredom. Boredom is a sign that your child’s mind is unoccupied; it indicates that your child isn’t being challenged enough, or that whatever they are doing doesn’t bring them a sense of purpose.
Too often, kids respond to boredom with negative pattern behaviors. They may scroll through their social media feeds for hours, snack on junk food even if they’re not hungry, or binge watch shows online all day. With time, teens and tweens get stuck in a cycle of negative behavior, in which they immediately go to TikTok or the cookie tin when they feel bored.
Luckily, there are just as many positive responses to boredom as negative ones! By creating challenges, trying new activities, and getting creative, your child can have a fun, engaging summer during coronavirus. Here are some ways to help your teen or tween beat that summer boredom…
Take a collaborative approach –
Kids may not be likely to see ideas that their parents suggest as fun. Rather than dictating their schedule, encourage your child to come up with ideas on their own. Take a collaborative approach, not an authoritative one. Ask your child, “What would be fun for you right now?” and see what they come up with. If they’re unsure, suggest that they play to their strengths. How can they get even better at what they’re good at or what they like to do? If they love science, maybe they can do some at-home experiments. If they’re a bookworm, perhaps they can find some good book recommendations online. Plant seeds in your child’s mind, but let them make the final call. When they take initiative on what they’re going to do, they are more likely to follow through.
Encourage your child to learn something new –
With all of this free time, now is the perfect opportunity to explore new skills and interests. Break out of the usual routine with an activity or a socially-distanced adventure that is brand-new. You may encourage your child to learn a new instrument or learn to paint through online tutorials. You may decide to go hiking or take a day trip driving down the coast. It doesn’t have to be an entirely new activity; you can transform a mundane task into something more exciting by reinventing it as well. For example, if you typically ride your bikes around town, drive one town over and explore the streets there. If your child likes to bake cookies, try out a cake recipe instead. Offer suggestions to your child and welcome their ideas too. There are many safe and easy ways to spice things up!
Make your home conducive for positive behavior –
Let your child’s environment lead them towards positive behavior. While you can’t tell your teen or tween what to do, you can prevent their home environment from leading them astray. Make it harder for them to fall back on negative pattern behavior. If you notice that your teen or tween always snacks on Doritos when bored, put the chips in the cabinet instead of leaving them in plain sight on the counter. If your teen constantly goes to Netflix binges when feeling bored, ask them to leave their laptop in the family room instead of their bedroom. Don’t forget to promote positive behavior too! Make it easier for them to do something healthy when feeling bored. Have healthy snacks prepped in the fridge, put their bike in the front of the garage so it’s easy to access, or make space for their books in the family area so they’re clearly visible. These subtle changes can make a difference in how your child responds to boredom.
This summer is tough for teens and parents alike. Without camp, summer jobs, and seeing friends in-person, teens and tweens feel like they’re at a loss for what to do. While you can’t prevent your child from feeling bored, you can make an impact in how they respond to it. Give them the tools that they need to turn a moment of boredom or frustration into a moment of excitement and meaning. A fun and engaging summer at home is possible!